


Timeline Intersection

by keyboardCoffeestains



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Gen, Like insane AU shit, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-02-11
Updated: 2013-06-13
Packaged: 2017-11-28 23:05:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/679886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keyboardCoffeestains/pseuds/keyboardCoffeestains
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Two Timelines have intersected, creating a de-stabilisation of the world.<br/>A tale of adventure, love, plague, destiny and the universe.<br/>Welcome, to Timeline Intersection.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Newcomer Arrives

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic that i am posting that i will hopefully be continuing. I hope to get your feedback:D  
> Kudos are much appreciated, and be sure to subscribe if you like the fic:D  
> \---  
> Tumblr Mirror: http://etherealportrayals.tumblr.com/post/42838752484/timeline-intersection-chapter-1-a-newcomer-arrives

Shift.The thin air he was about to walk through morphed into a stone wall with moss lining the cracks in it. The stone wall promptly stopped a barrage of plasma fire, which melted about an inch of the wall.  
The coolkid checked the timepiece on his wrist. Seventeen seconds. He needed to make a move. He surveyed the area around him, looking for another piece to cover to take cover behind. He was in the middle of the ‘temple/metropolis’ (T/M) square, The centre beam of square was the thing that had just saved his life.  
Ten. He needed to identify where his attacker was, and soon.  
He spotted a small window on the third floor of the temple, and decided to move directly towards the gunman and behind a column that he knew existed in Metropolis. He would wait for the second before the next shift before he moved.  
Five. Four. Three. Tw- He was snapped out of his mental counting when a laser bolt narrowly missed his head.  
They forced his hand. He activated nano armor and dived for the cover he had planned to dive towards a second before he wanted to.  
One. Shift. The world switched back to the blue metropolis once again, the slab that once was rock, turned into stainless steel metal. The ground inverted into smooth marble and in an instant Dave’s back was shoved up against the cool surface, riflekind plasma gun raised and aimed right at the source of the gunfire.  
He sighted down the gun and saw the idiot marksman reloading his rifle in the open. He took the opportunity to nail the man straight in the head, taking out that threat for this round.  
He was playing deathMatch, a dastardly simple arena setup. Fifteen players total, last one standing wins. Second and third last dead formed the runner ups.  
In this particular match there were exactly six and a half people left. With barely four minutes left in the timer, and this relatively large map, it was probable that not everyone would be eliminated by the end of the round. That’s where the other system comes into play. The player with the most kills wins, if not everyone dies in the end.  
The quick kill was no reason for celebration, and he immediately swerved round to face the next threat, the kind of threat with a LMG. His five second camo was not enough to get him to a closer angle to take him out, so he opted for a different approach. Brute force. He kept his riflekind weapon and withdrew his rocketkkind RPG-14. Nothing beats old school, in his opinion.  
He would time his shot carefully. During the shift, things would turn white for a split second, giving him time to rise and strike without being ripped to shreds by a torrent of bullets. The explosion would attract more players to the area, thus the need for a quick escape.  
Three. Two. One. Shift. The world reverted again while he rose with the launcher, squeezing the trigger and withdrawing a small pistol from it’s holster in on his belt.  
The prick with the LMG was down, which was a good sign but he needed to get out of the square. He decided to take a risk, and dived into the temple specific drain network that was under the map.  
Whenever someone is stuck in a time-specific area, the person is bumped to the next elevation. With skill and luck, you would not appear on the top of the map and be killed. With talent, prowess and ridiculous amounts of amazing fortune, however you could use the tactic to get the drop on opponents. If you were that good.  
He slowed down to a quieter pace, and listened for the footsteps of unsuspecting competitors.  
He walked a few more paces and the sound of a nervous young rookie stumbling around a room assaulted his ears.  
Shift. He felt a jerking sensation as he was pushed up to the first level of metropolis. He had appeared right in front of the kid who had his back against the wall, his gun aimed at the air that Dave had just materialized in.  
Bang. That was another idiot down, four and a half people to go.  
He checked the match timer again, noting the two minutes left on the counter and proceeded to hunt down the next opponent.

A minute later, and he was in a small room with two entrances. He had his back up to the wall, a knife in one hand and his handgun in the other. He just realized that his last enemy was not the rookie he thought he was hunting, but a shadower, someone who was trained in free-running and used stalk-and-kill tactics. Combining this with the armor that they wore that allowed them to jump to great heights and camouflage in plain sight, they were deadly combatants.  
It then took him another second to realize that he had been stalking him all the while, waiting for the last second to strike.  
He spotted a small shimmer a meter in front of him, if you did not know what you were looking for, you’d think it was just a heat wave...  
The next thing he saw was a dagger stuck in his heart.  
The respawner served it’s function and he was reconstructed in the intermission room.  
Next to him was the mysterious shadower who had denied him first place. The door swung open, and Dave stepped out of the room with his bag. The prize money for second place was waiting for him in the hands of a smiling attendant, he grabbed it and looked around for the shadower.  
No sign of him. He didn’t even take the prize money.  
Just who the heck was this guy?


	2. Tying Up Loose Ends-The City, The Timestreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just some concepts that explain more of the things in the AU to the reader. This particular one is important.

The city of World’s End had never been a popular destination. It’s name has originated from a past that had believed that the world was flat, and had designated this point as The World’s End. As a result, the small town that had existed lived a very quiet life, with only the occasional visitor who came looking for the end of the world. It was, of course not the sheer cliff that lead into oblivion that all the misguided locals believed it was. But after all, every single one of the hunters had disappeared without a trace, so one could not blame the sadly mistaken residents of the town from staying away from the patch of land that they has declared World’s End. That was where the area’s fate began. After the theory of the world being flat being debunked, the town did not receive a sudden burst of popularity, but instead the town fell into a greater depression. Years later, a corporation came by and decided that the desolate location was a good place to start a R&D facility. The facility had long wasted away, but the city that had been built around it, lived on. The town went on quietly, most people not aware of it’s existence.  
It was because of this that Dave and Jade had decided to settle here(it was mostly Dave’s wanting to be somewhere quiet,but Jade had gladly agreed).

Another reason is that this particular area had avoided the unfortunate curse that plagued many parts of the world. The timeline of this particular area of the world had not managed to intersect with it’s intruding neighbor, and for that it was granted a exemption from the constant shifting of the environment. He had enough of that to deal with in the _Timestreams._

_The Timestreams._ Another aspect of the world that he lived in that he utterly despised. The word originated from the recent ability that was discovered by mages, to mass produce doomed timelines. These timelines were all made to have a partner. One was a timeline that was stuck in the time period 1854 and the other, was a timeline stuck in 2112.

A pair of timelines would be put in intersecting courses in _Paradox Space_. This created the alternating effect in the timeline. Every single one of these timelines began from a central location. This singular location was called _Doomed Time Central,_ or DTC as it was more commonly known. This was the place where anyone could get into a match, provided they were playing in it.


	3. Open Your Eyes-Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is gonna be a 2 part chapter, half because I really want to update this fic and secondly cause I don't wanna have super long chapters.  
> //I promise to update super fast to complete this chapter and do less of this! I really just need to get into the groove of writing more and faster:D

The _Timestreams_ were an integral part of their world. It was a way of talking to faraway people(not that distance made much difference anymore), conduct business and live in relative peace.

For example, in DTC, fights cannot occur for the simple fact that in that constructed timeline, fighting did not exist. Any attempts at doing things that did not exist in a particular timeline would cause the individual to be set to the position they were at fifteen seconds ago. As he walked down a corridor to the main area of DTC, Dave noted this dependency on the Timestreams, and went as far as to observe that if the timelines were to all suddenly collapse, the world would be crippled.  

He finally arrived at Central DTC, the heart of modern civilization. 

The colossal Central Tower of the DTC contained everything a person could need or want in a modern society. Food,drinks,entertainment,sex and more awaited the consumeristic soul.

 

Dave made his way to the elevator that served as the gateway up and down the three thousand story building. Normal physics does not need to work if you do not want it to, in the timestreams.

Even though atleast a hundred thousand people were currently in the structure at the same time, there were also a thousand different elevators, making the times of squeezing into a small and crowded metal box a thing of the past. He prodded at the button with the label ‘147’ and waited a mere five seconds for the lift to rise to the appropriate level.

He took a step out, and surveyed the area. Floor 147 was an area for small cafés that served relatively cheap food and masterfully made coffee. Dave always patronized this particular cafe. The blue neon sign glowed, and when anyone looked up at it, it burned the words ‘The Orange Thimble’ into their eyes.

Dave walked under the sign, heading straight for a seat in the back that was placed next to a window that overlooked most of the DTC.

Dave was never the type to stare out of the window and take in the view, but Jade was and he knew she would want to sit here.

Speaking of Jade, she should be arriving soon.

The waiter came over to Dave’s seat, greeting him with a warm smile and a quick ‘the usual?’. Dave responded with a nod, as he always did.

This had been a routine that was established three years back, when they had just moved into World’s End.

Both Dave and Jade would go to work, and after those four hours of work they would meet at the same cafe that they had met in the first place. 

But today Jade was late.

Soon enough, the coffee (a mocha) arrived at Dave’s table along with a stack of five pancakes.

The moment Dave had put the cup to his lips, seemingly out of nowhere, Jade appeared. 

‘Hey Strider!’ She said in that ever so sweet voice of hers. Just hearing her voice could break the Strider facade, but he was determined to hold up appearances.

‘Sup Harley.’ He responded with the tiniest hint of affection tinting his voice. In fact, it was so slight that only Jade would be able to notice it.

‘You’re slightly later today, anything up at work?’ He said, careful not to let too much curiosity slip into his voice.

She shook her head, and turned to the waiter with a gleaming smile.

‘The usual please!’ The waiter raised her fingers in an ‘ok’ sign. 

‘Oh, it’s nothing just some new plants just came in and those called for some extra work. You weren't actually worried about me were you?’ Her words were teasing as she leaned over the table, as if expecting Dave to say yes.

‘No. I was just wondering.’ He dismissed the entire though with a wave of his hand.

Jade’s food arrived, her usual order being scrambled eggs and a vanilla latte.

The next five minutes were spent in relative silence, aside from the clinking of cutlery and the sound of soft chewing.

It was when Dave had just finished his third pancake when Jade spoke again.

‘John called.’ She said it in an off-handed way, making it seem meaningless, but Dave knew better.

‘And he said?’

‘He wants you to come right away. It’s important.’

Dave sets down the knife he was using to cut his pancakes.

‘And how to fuck am I supposed to know if it is actually important?’

‘It’s about Rose.’

That made Dave throw down his cutlery, pay for the meal and make for the nearest teleporter.


	4. Open Your Eyes-Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ' He saw a mere ghost of the man.'  
> It's time to look at the world. The world he tried to run away from.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you got this far, thank you soooo much! I'll try to update this on an atleast once a week basis! I'm bursting with ideas, so expect one or two longer chapters in the weeks to come!  
> Again thanks for reading and if you would be so kind to spread the tumblr link around, i'd be eternally grateful!  
> Tumblr Link: http://keyboardcoffeestains.tumblr.com/post/44060597493/timeline-intersection-chapter-four-part-two

Teleporters were horrible business. Firstly, they cost exorbitant amounts of money to use, secondly, you would get this horrible feeling of compression in your gut when you used it.

But the situation called for less waiting around and using normal transport and more teleporting. 

The nearest teleporter array happened to be on the _150th_ floor, a mere three levels up from where Dave and Jade were. 

Dave stepped into the elevator with an air of impatience, but Jade just looked worried.

The lift doors opened, and they stepped out. The floor here was something absolutely different. The walls were painted this black that reflected so little light that it seemed that you were staring into nothingness. This had the effect of calming people, and in some occasions making them get drowsy.

The only contraptions in the room were the teleporters. 

The teleporter itself was a single plate on the floor. They were all made of a white plastic and they glowed blue when inactive. The way to use them was to stand on them, and select the location of the next teleporter array that you wanted to be whisked away to on the holo-display.  
The couple stepped into adjacent teleporters and brought up the display.

The network of teleporters expanded fast, and in the five months that Dave had not viewed the map, the amount of teleporters on the grid had increased exponentially. 

Now, where did John live?

The Nic Cage fan resided in a polar opposite of the sleepy town that was World’s Edge. He lived right in the middle of The Empire, a city very aptly named- Metropolis City.

It was right in the middle of the government’s control, and for that the residents were rewarded with overcrowding.

Seven hundred and fifty square kilometers of space, but with thirty million people to cater for. This gave the Empire a problem that they decided to try a unique solution on. They built a city, on a city.

The lower city or _The Blue City_ , as it was called by the locals, enjoyed a sum total of zero hours of sunlight a day. They made do with electric blue street lamps that cast a light that illuminated a very wide space, but the entire city had a blueish tinge to it.

Dave tapped the button to get to teleporter closest to John’s residency. It was only a kilometer and Dave would cover the distance faster alone.

He needed to speak to Jade about altering plans, just a little. The timer on the display read _‘_ Three, two, one.’

There was a small flash and Dave felt as if his entire body was being pushed against, the sensation was suffocating and after the agonizing three seconds, his breath was forced out of him.

There wasn’t a single second to waste, so Dave turned to Jade who was next to him. 

‘Jade, I can cover the distance faster. Do you mind waiting here?’ His usually stone cold voice was oddly soft, and Jade agreed.

Their lips met, and Dave prepared to flashstep his way to _casa de Egbert._

The terminal that he had emerged had the exact same decor. It must be a trend with teleporter terminals nowadays.

He exited through the door and out into the outside world. 

Not that it meant much these days.

~

The air was cool, as if someone had put an air-conditioner over the entire city. The streets were strangely bare, and Jade, noticed this as she stepped out of the building right behind Dave.

‘Hmm... Where’s everyone?’

He shrugged, anxious to get to John’s home.

Declining further comment, he flashstepped up and onto the roof of the terminal. From the top of the twenty floored building, he got a bird’s eye view of the entire lower city. The streets appeared to be deserted.

‘No one on the streets as far as my eyes can see.’ He call said, appearing once again by Jade’s side.

‘Then be careful.’

‘I will’

 

Within five minutes, Strider had completed the one kilometer journey and arrived outside of John’s apartment window.

Dave rapped his knuckles on the glass panel of the window, settling down comfortably on the abnormally large window ledge. Casa de Egbert had no changed much since his last visit. At least, the living room had not been altered at all.

The holo screen to Dave’s left, the blue couch that always sagged when anyone sat on it, the coffee stained coffee table and the centre piece of the room -the white grand piano. The immaculate sheen of the piano was so largely contrasted to the state of the rest of the room showed volumes about John’s obsession.

It was only natural that he performed piano on several international stages,and had garnered a few awards to his name.

He always loved to live simply though, hence the small apartment.

When John entered the living room, Dave did not see the best pal that he had left in the city three years back. He saw a mere ghost of the man. He was unsmiling, his eyes had distinct eye bags under his eyes. John slid the glass panel blocking Dave’s way aside. 

Their eyes met, and they knew that little words were required. Their reunion could be celebrate later. At that point of time, something greater needed their attention.

When John opened his mouth, only a hoarse few words were audible.

‘Rose is in my room.’

~

The room was perhaps the most ironically tranquil place in the house. The entire space was bare, except for the bed that was against the left wall, a bedside table, and a hard solid oak desk.

The blue curtains flapped silently, tossed about by the wind.

On the bed a figure lay. She was dressed in purple pajamas, her white hair stark against the blue of the pillow. Her eyes were open, their bright, rich purple still sparkling in light of the horrid situation.

Because the rest of her was most definitely not shining brightly.

No sir. On the contrary, she was sick to the core, her very soul being torn apart by the vacillating timelines.

This sickness was known as _The Calamity_. It struck randomly, and even the strongest fell prey to its dark clutches.

Dave had never even entertained the thought of his sister succumbing to such a sickness. However now, when he looked back, it was foolish of him not to. The Calamity was ruthless, and it had no bounds. It did not help that the machines that kept Metropolis City in a single timeline state accelerated the speed of The Calamity.

‘So my brother comes rushing to my bedside, a knight in shining armor.’ She rasps.

‘You’re down with the calamity and you’re still snarking me? Save some snark for the sickness.’

At that remark she attempted sort of a short giggle, but instead erupted into a series of coughs sounded so horrible that Dave winced internally.

There was yet to be any known cure to The Calamity, and the survivor rate is extremely low for it. Rose would either have to beat the odds, or become a lifeless corpse. It was not a very positive future. 

Dave knew this, and so did John. So why was John not crying by her bedside now? 

‘Dave, I need your help.’ John asked, as if unsure of eliciting a positive answer from Dave.

‘We need to find a cure. And I know how.’


	5. Unforeseen Acquaintances

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back from hiatus. Hopefully.

Dave’s awoke to the sound of the atrociously noisy air conditioner fan. His eyes popped open, taking in the still dark room. The sun has yet to rise. Next to him, Jade’s face was tranquil and emotionless. She had always been a heavy sleeper, and it would have surprised Dave if she had awoken at the same time as him.

He extracted his arm from underneath Jade’s weight, and proceeded about making breakfast. He rolled off the couch, and took sleepy steps towards the kitchen. In a moment, two eggs were sizzling on a pan with some milk. A pot of coffee silently brewed away on the kitchen countertop. The kitchen was a small room, with a bar counter that formed the partition between the living room and the small cooking area. 

The smell of eggs and fresh coffee entered the air, the air conditioner not picking any of the smells up. Any other day, Dave would be in a peaceful state of mind. Any other day, he would be content, but in these circumstances, he was only anxious about what the day would entail for him.

The echo of a door opening, and light footsteps resounded in the living room, interrupting the constant sizzle of the eggs being scrambled on the pan.

‘Breakfast! Got any for me?’ John asked, rubbing his hands together in anticipation. How he was so awake at that time of this time of the day, Dave could not figure out. Instead of responding, Dave crossed over to the cupboard which he thought contained the plates, pulled the door open and pulled out a plain white square plate. He thrust it into the dish sanitizer and waited for the machine to do its work.

‘Still keep the plates in the same place.’ Dave said emptily, making filler for a conversation he honestly wanted to hold. It had been three years since he had seen his life long friend in person, and they had a lot to catch up on. Circumstances protested otherwise.  
The dish sanitizer popped open, and the plate looked -if possible- even more white than it did before it went in.

 

He transferred the eggs to the plate and pointed at Jade. John nodded, and placed the eggs on the table right next to her.

~

The group had gathered inside Rose’s room to eat their breakfast in the company of Rose, and ultimately go though the plan one final time. The air was silent, and just as the room, the only sound that pierced the stillness was the clinking of cutlery and the flapping of the window blinds.

  
The plan that they had devised wasn’t really a plan at all. Dave was to get the cure, and everyone else would stay behind and watch for trouble. Reports of Imperial Legion troops scouring the population for the ill and are rounding them up under the pretense of ‘helping’ them. God knows what are actually doing to them.

  
Once all of their plates were clean, John gathered them up and brought them to the kitchen. Jade took a place next to Rose, and Dave left the room, wanting to get dressed.

He locked the door behind him, taking off the clothes he wore the previous day and pulled on his signature shirt, a plain white T-shirt with a single print on the middle- a black record which was split in the middle. He slid on a leather jacket, which was a rare sight in the day and age. He also wore a pair of jeans that covered his entire legs, and replaced his sunglasses in their rightful position on his face. He looked like something out of an old movie. A thing of the past, unable to conform to the trends of this new world.

 

In the inside of his jacket pocket he kept a small stun gun. Non-lethal, and it’ll knock someone out for 5 hours straight. Of course, he wasn’t counting on needing to use it. It should be simple. Meet the guy, grab the cure and rush back.

  
He booted his own custom operating system (most commercial OSes contain spyware) that ran on his sunglasses, and a small clock at the top left of his glasses read _7:47_. A small display right under it showed him where to go.

_8:15, Wheelock Square, Metropolis._

~

Wheelock Square was a tourist attraction, through and through. It was simply a big square which showed off the technological advances of the century. It was worth the first visit, if you were young but not many new things were usually added. 

During the tourist season, the square would be bustling with energy. Admission was over priced for the tourists, but they just lapped it up. The locals, however were not so easily fooled. Nor were they amazed by the display of power from the Imperials.

During the work seasons, the square was empty. Soundless, spare for the exhibits coldly repeating the same meaningless display of power that they would have presented a million times before.  
This made it secluded, abandoned, and a perfect spot for a discreet meeting.

 

Dave arrived at Wheelock Square at 8:09. He scanned his citizen’s pass, and fifty credits was deducted from his account. That cash was meaningless, as he had a friend around who was adept at hacking, and in Metropolis, money was but bits of code.

He entered the place proper, and walked the empty halls for a moment, before opting to find a vantage point on a roof of a three story exhibit. He flashsteped up, able to see the square proper for the first time.

The square looked like a twenty first century slum, minus the makeshift materials. Only stainless steel and treated glass was used here. The square was as large of half a football/gravMatch field(reference to 21th century culture so the readers will understand.). It was built in an extremely simple grid format with two sections: Military-Civilian.

  
Dave was in the civilian section, which was nearer to the entrance. He leaned against the pseudo-neon sign that read ‘Vance’s Transport’.

 

8:15. Dave felt a chill in the air. The exhibits suddenly stopped moving, the sounds stopped sounding and the air was still. Dave made ready for an attack, on hand in his jacket, unfolding the grip. The machines came back to life, filling the space with sound.  
Just what on earth was going on?

  
Dave heard a sound behind him, much like an old glass bottle that they somehow still use for wine breaking. He turned, drawing the small gun. Nothing out of the ordinary. He slowly inched forward, moving towards the ledge on the other side of the building.

Three steps away, Dave hears someone hit the rooftop behind him.

Two steps away, footsteps getting closer to him.

One step away, rough hands push him off the rooftop, and into a black body bag.  
The zip of the bag slowly closed on him, the light slowly evaporating from him. Stolen from him.

Darkness.


	6. A Week In Five Seconds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fight, and hopefully more regular updates:D

He opened his eyes to pure green. He then realise it wasn’t just green, but the ceiling was entirely covered by plants. Real, living organic plants. Curious plants that did not grow flowers, but blue crystals that pulsed red when touched. Dave shifted his arm, feeling the soft leaves of the strange plants. He looked around, realising the entire room was overrun with the things. The green was a little too much for him to take in, and the constant colour, with bits of blue in between beat a dull ache into his head. 

Unsteadily, he got to his feet. The weight of his body focused on his two feet crushed the blue crystals as he got up, and a soft cracking sound resounded through the room.

Dave put his palms to the walls, slowly feeling every inch of the wall for an opening. He got halfway through the second wall before a disembodied voice echoed through the room.

‘There is no entrance.’

The voice was entirely even and emotionless. It was deep, like one of those movie trailer voiceovers. 

Dave, startled by the voice but not willing to show it, replied cooly.

‘But there is an exit.’

‘Perhaps.’

Behind Dave, a section of the floor depressed, and sank down. When it rose back into place, there was a man, dressed in a plain white T-shirt and a pair of ripped jeans. He bared his teeth, revealing teeth, stained with blood.

‘Perhaps you are worthy of escaping. Perhaps.’

Dave turned, and reached into his coat pocket, and drew his stun gun which for some reason was still with him.

He pulled the trigger, and a soft clicking sound was made.

‘Technology will not aid you here.’  
That was definitely the case, as Dave’s shades had shutdown. There was no clock at the top right to tell him how much time had passed since he had last awoken.

‘It’s been half an hour since we brought you here, if you must know. Now fight! Prove you are worth of exiting.’ 

The man drew a small knife, and attacked Dave.

 

He lunged towards Dave, aiming to thrust the small blade into Dave’s torso in an attempt to kill him. Dave anticipates this, and sidesteps the attack. He grabs the crazed attacker’s arm, and tried to hit the knife out of his hand. But the man was stronger, and instead punched Dave in the gut, winding him. The two men were on opposite ends of the room, slow circling each other, getting ready to attack. _Shift._ The world became white for a second, as the it seemed to want to switch to another dimension, but yet, nothing happened. The room remained the exact same.  
This time, Dave got on the offensive, and tackled the man. He grunted in pain as Dave twisted his arm, forcing him to drop the knife. He retaliated by punching Dave on the left cheek, but at the same time he accidentally kicked the knife away from the both of them. Dave saw this, and they simultaneously dived for the small weapon. Time slowed, and the man suddenly jerked and moved in half the speed that he did. Dave continued at his normal speed, grabbed the knife and thrust it into skull of the confused man.

Scarlet liquid burst forth from him, falling in slow motion. 

‘Engage the electromagnetic field now!’ The voice shouted to someone.

Dave feels himself slow down, and the world seemed to return to normal speed.

The same voice appeared this time, not from what seemed to be the room itself, but behind him.

‘Do you know what you just did?’

Dave shook his head.

‘You just made a week pass, in a matter of five seconds.’


	7. A Reverie, A Revelation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dave wakes up in more rooms! A Reverie! A Revelation!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys if you're still subscribed or actively following this, thanks! These next 2/3 chapters will be a little more plot heavy, so watch out!

The room adjacent was gigantic, the ceiling high and the rows of strange equipment extended as far as the eye could see. The moment he stepped into the room he saw that it was entirely empty, save for himself and the mysterious man. He turned round, looking for an answer as to where exactly he was and why he was there.

‘So. Where am I?’ He asked curtly, expecting a quick answer.

‘We are in the main safe house of the Resistance. I’m sure you’ve heard of us.’

Dave shook his head.

‘Actually, no. I don’t actually live here, so your ‘Resistance,’ He stressed the word resistance with a tone of dismissal. ’Is not something I am aware of.’

‘That is perfectly reasonable. Now, how about you listen to me a little longer before you ask any more meaningless questions?’ The man rebutted, wanting to keep talking.

‘What you did in that chamber is a guarantee a suspicion that we’ve had since we sent one of our agents into your last _deathMatch_ session.’

‘That was you guys? Your agent was not too bad of a fighter.’

‘Indeed that was. Dave, do you know your father?’

Dave paused at that question, a little startled that the conversation had taken such a fast turn into another topic. He thought about the answer he was about to give for a second, weighing his choices.

He ended up going with the truth.

‘I never knew him, I was raised by my brother.’

‘That settles it! Dave, you are the sixteenth regeneration of the original Dave Strider, the man who had played in the four player Sburb session that had created our universe.’

Dave froze, and opened his mouth for more answers when he was silenced by the man.

The man went on to explain the tale of the four godtiers.

 

Four children, John Egbert, Jade Harley, Rose Lalonde and Dave Strider played the game named Sburb. The ultimate goal of the game was to create a new universe, one to replace the doomed one that they escaped through beginning the game. They eventually succeeded, and in the end were granted the creation of a new world. They eventually created the world that Dave was currently in. See, they were also given the choice, when the game had ended, to either be gods of the world or become a normal person, but never die. They had ultimately chosen the latter, and the four of them lived normal lives until well, the first time one of them died. 

As it turned out, death was still a problem for them. When they would reach to a point where a normal person would die, they did. But they would eventually regenerate and that would be the end of it. The regeneration period would vary according to the severity of death, and would span a day or at most, two months. 

But the team were in for another twist of their fate, where they an individual came into their lives.

His name was Klepto, and he would be the one to steal their memories. He had casted a spell, and every time one of the four died, they would lose more and more of their memories. 

Well, not lose. It was more of being locked away. Eventually, after centuries of slowly losing their past, the four only had certain fragments of their past to recall. 

This was obviously something hard for Dave to comprehend in such a small amount of time, so he took a seat in one of the office chairs, propped his elbows on the table and rested his heads on his hands. His vision became blurry, the world seemed to turn upside down, and up again. This happened again, and Dave, falling out of his chair could only let the darkness overtake him.

 

When he woke, Dave was not in control of his own body. Instead, he seemed to be viewing the world through another body, unable to speak or move. He scanned his surroundings, his eyes flickering across a sizeable ballroom floor. He was seated in front of a counter on a swivel chair with a light drink in his hand. Some sort of cocktail, but that was not important to him. What had definitely caught his attention, was that he was holding another girls hand, and she was the most beautiful person he had ever seen.

Unbeknownst to Dave, the woman in question was the fourth regeneration of Jade Harley. He would discover this later, looking back upon this memory in an attempt to make some sense of it.

Dave tried looking down, and found that he could at least control his head. The suit he wore was red, with a white shirt underneath. His tie -also red- was neat, and he found the image of a scratched record as some sort of an insignia over his breast pocket. He was wearing a pair of jeans that were in pristine condition, and his leather shoes were spotless. He realised that he was not in the body of another man, he were merely in a memory, a recollection of his own past. Taking this into consideration, Dave relaxed, and decided to merely observe how his past self acted.

The music was slow, and so was the dancing which was probably the reason that the couple were at the sidelines, trading words of flirtation and drinking. This went on for quite a while, and Dave, who apparently liked that particular cocktail that he was drinking (it was bitter, but had a pleasant aftertaste) never waited around for a waiter to bring him another. He refilled the drink by simply reversing the course of time in the glass. Dave was pleased to find that his older (younger?) self was a lot like himself. The current piece came to a gradual end, and as the musicians prepared for the next one, John appeared, hand in hand with Rose.

Dave chuckled inwardly. It seemed that even without the memories, the four were still split the same way. 

‘Dave, why aren’t you dancing?’ He said, his voice slightly higher from sheer enjoyment of the moment. 

‘Too slow. Way too slow for us’ He squeezed his partner’s hand, and her mouth quirked upwards, forming a quick smile.

The music started up again, but the world seemed to blur. Colours faded into one another and the world lost it’s feeling. First smell, then taste, hearing, sight and touch. The last thing to fade away was the soft feel of Jade’s hands on his own.

 

Dave in a foreign room for the second time in a day, which was definitely one too many by his standards. This time, he was lain down on a small bed in a normal, modern day room.  On a bedside table was a jug of water, an empty glass and a note.

The note read: ‘When awake, ring the bell.’

Dave left the small card where it was, and poured a glass of water. He paused for a second, considering if he should actually drink water from a person that had kidnapped him. He figured that if they wanted anything malicious from him, they would already have ‘asked’.

A few minutes passes by. He remembers the reason he had set out in the first place, to retrieve a cure for Rose’s sickness. The person had said what, a week?

A week passing by could have marked the death of his sister.

 _Wham! Wham! Wham!_ Dave pounds upon the frustratingly locked door of his cell.

‘Let me out! I have a life to save!’


End file.
